Monday, 28 December 2015

I found this in a local Holland and Barrett. Rhythm is a vegan kefir drink. Kefir is made by fermenting using a yeast/bacteria blend that live in a symbiotic relationship. If you have followed my blogposts for any length of time you have seen that I am a fan of fermented products. Humans are fermentation based lifeforms in many ways. The bacteria that are part of us are constantly fermenting and fermentation is a natural state for humans to exist in. Obviously sometimes things get 'out of whack' unwanted types of bacteria and yeast invade our bodies and upset our natural balance. One of the goals of ingesting fermented products is to aid the body in reaching ideal levels of health and vigour. You have choices of foods like unpasteurised sauerkraut, natto, plant-based live yoghurts and several others, you can also take probiotic pills, but ideally a combination based upon your health and needs will determine the best option at that time.
So, on with this review each little bottle has about 15 billion friendly bacterial friends for you to meet. Obviously these are live you do not heat your kefir. I simply drank the contents. Both were pretty good. The plain one tasted like coconut, it was quite nice, the coconut, mango and passion fruit was very fruity and had an especially nice flavour I enjoyed a lot. I think out of the two bottles I preferred the fruit one, however sometimes I don't feel that 'fruity' and having the plain option is good for times like that.
The main differences between the two nutritionally is that the pure coconut has a hint more fat and the fruity one has more carbs, so buy the one that fits your goals he best
Nutritionally (per 100g - each bottle is 126g):

Plain coconut kefir
Fat 2g
Carbs 2.8g
Protein 0.8g

Coconut, mango and passionfruit
Fat 1.3g
Carbs 8.8g
Protein 0.8g

I will certainly be buying them again and if you are looking to introduce a natural source of probiotic into your life then consider adding these to your diet.

Thursday, 24 December 2015

Now, I am making the assumption you are not having vegan
friends around, or that you do not have a vegan family (which would be
awesome!). In this I am assuming that you traditionally have family gatherings
and that these often centre around meat and dairy based foods.

A lot depends on how you deal with other eating animal
products.For some they can ignore it
for others they cannot.Before we look
at what you should be doing be doing, let me look at what you probably shouldn’t
be doing.

Bringing up the animal consumption at the Christmas meal

This is tricky. Especially for the newer vegan (those under
10 years being vegan).You have just
discovered all the abuse, you are watching a lot of videos on the subject. Many
of us (mistakenly) believed that just explaining what actually happens will
convince people that it is wrong to exploit animals as we do. Unfortunately,
that turned out to be wrong, we cannot convince people like that.However, we can lead by example.If we are confrontational at the dinner
table, others will go on the defensive.Christmas is a celebration of family togetherness.If you attack the family they will unite
against you.You will have a horrible
Christmas, and so will they.However, if
they see you are looking fit and eating lovely food, they may be more inclined
to move in your direction. Most people aren’t convinced if you attack them.All they will see is a miserable, moany
person at the dinner table and be less likely to change their ways. Avoid talk
of animal abuse at the Christmas dinner table and your Christmas will go much
more smoothly

Bring amazing food

Simple as it sounds bringing a vast amount of amazing food
will do more to convince people than any argument you can create.If they taste your food and it is fabulous
then you have won an important point. Do not bring ‘rabbit food’ to a
feast.I know fresh fruits and
vegetables are the healthiest.I know
people feel awesome eating them.However, this is not the time to convince people of that.Today is a feast, people want cheesecake, not
carrot sticks.Accept that, buy (or
make) cheesecake, roasts, whatever it takes to impress the family.Many people think limp lettuce and stringy
cabbage are the staple foods in a vegans diet.Most vegans are actually very ‘food-centric’.We appreciate good food more than the average
person as we have to make effort to discover places that make fantastic food. Smooth
the table with tempting nibbles and people will try them.

Avoid Christmas day

If you cannot bear to sit with people carving up animals in
front of you, then consider visiting the family near to Christmas, but avoid
Christmas day itself. I must admit, this is the option I have settled upon over
the years.I now see friends on Christmas
day.We eat a vegan roast and enjoy the
day in good company without the stress of seeing an animal dismembered in front
of you. This is one option that can make Christmas run more smoothly for
everyone.If you are still at home, then
maybe toddle off at meal time to your room and fill up on vegan goodies or pop
out for a walk until it is over.It can
be hard to watch and feel involved in a meal so do what you need for you own
well being.

Consider your own needs as well as the family

It may be hard to make some choices over the holiday period.You may have to change the way you have
interacted at Christmas for your whole life.This isn’t easy and may cause some issues.Be true to yourself, be honest about what you
can and cannot do this Christmas.Knowing yourself is a vital step in this in this process. Above all plan
a fantastic Christmas that involves family, friends and loved ones.However misguided some family members are remember
this is supposed to be a celebration, enjoy the time and do not stress. Have a
fabulous times and then look forward to an amazing 2016!

Tuesday, 15 December 2015

Aging is not really very well understood.We know that both mental and physical decline
are a symptom (if symptom is the right word?) of aging.There are probably a host of other factors
like declining organ function and suboptimal hormone profiles, but to most
people physical and mental decline are the major issues that occur as we age.

The dream of agelessness

Although you can never stop the hands of time, it does
appear that you can slow the speed at which you actually age biologically.Everyone is different, we all appear to age
at different rates from a biological outlook[i].Some people look fabulous at 50, while other
look frazzled by 30. You cannot change your inherent genetics, but you can
‘tweak’ the controls a little by using a technique that virtually anyone can
do. Surprisingly, it is through vigorous physical activity that you lessen the
effects of aging.It has been shown that
physical activity has a positive effect on both physical[ii]
and mental[iii]
biological age of a person.If you apply
the stimulus of exercise it will positively affect the markers of biological
aging on both the body and the mind. Without exercise the body goes through an
uncontrolled spiral of decay[iv].

Cell protection.

So, if exercise positively affect aging how does it affect
health on a cellular level?

On a cellular level some of the health benefits seems to be
that exercise somehow stops (or possibly even reverses) telomere shrinkage[v].
Telomeres sit at the ends of genes.Usually a little bit of telomere is lost everytime a cell divides.Once it is gone cells are open to damage and
have increased chances of developing cancer and other issues.Exercise protects these telomeres from
shrinkage. Without this shrinkage cells stay healthy and vibrant for longer.

What works?

So if we know exercise helps you stay biologically younger
both from a mental/physical aspect and on a cellular level, then the next
question is what exercise should I do?

The answer is probably what you would expect.Do a little cardiovascular exercise and a
little resistance training[vi].Balancing the positive effects of both seems
to be the key, but you should be doing both. Add in some exercise that makes
you breathe a little bit harder, but also include something that will make you
stronger.I suggest lifting weights
several times a week and doing your favourite form of cardio a few times a
week.Also try to walk on a daily basis,
climb stairs instead of using the lift and other things that will increase
daily activity. If you can do things and try to eat a healthy diet you will be
as biologically young as you can be.

[iii] Barber SE, et al. Is There a Role for Physical
Activity in Preventing Cognitive Decline in People With Mild Cognitive
Impairment? Age Ageing. 2012;41(1):5-8.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/755471

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